Better women's ranges have helped SuperGroup, the Cheltenham-based business behind the Superdry, Cult and SurfCo California fashion brands, to a leap in sales over the summer.

Total sales at the retailer, best known for its hoodies and T-shirts – which are worn by celebrities ranging from Nicole Scherzinger to Carol Vorderman – jumped 26% to £75m in the three months to the end of July, as seasonal ranges flew off the shelves.

The group has had a rollercoaster ride since joining the stock market in 2010. Floated at 500p, the shares soared to £16.50 within a year, only to crash to 304p as a result of problems ranging from buying too many of the wrong sizes to warehouse difficulties.

But they have bounced back, closing up 66p at £12.25 on Thursday. Founder and chief executive, Julian Dunkerton, who still owns 26m shares worth some £320m, said: "The spring/summer 2013 ranges have performed well with further progress made in womenswear." Strong growth in the autumn/winter order book showed the improvement was being sustained, he added. The group now has 154 franchised outlets overseas in countries from Austria to the Philippines, India and Turkey.

The trading update comes just ahead of SuperGroup's annual meeting next week, where Dunkerton could once again face a hostile audience. Shareholder group Pirc has urged investors to vote against the group's directors' pay report, criticising a guaranteed bonus of £350,000 paid to the chief operating officer, Susanne Given.

Twelve months ago, with shares languishing, Dunkerton and other directors faced a shareholder revolt. Nearly one in five voted against his re-election, and the same proportion refused to back the appointment of Given, who had been hired from John Lewis with a controversial golden hello of shares worth £1.1m.